A user equipment (UE) may include a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) radio transceiver for communication in a public 3GPP (cellular) network and a non-Third Generation Partnership Project (non-3GPP) radio transceiver for communication in a local private non-3GPP wireless network. The public 3GPP network may be, for example, a Fourth Generation (4G)/Long Term Evolution (LTE) based network, and the non-3GPP wireless network may be an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 compliant wireless local area network (WLAN).
Typically, an enterprise utilizes a local private WLAN (e.g. an enterprise Wi-Fi network) to provide wireless communication for UEs on enterprise premises. Looking ahead, an enterprise may additionally utilize a local private 3GPP network operative in a shared spectrum, such as a Citizens Broadcast Radio Services (CBRS) band. Spectrum sharing in a CBRS network is facilitated by a spectrum access system (SAS) which is configured to authorize and manage the use of spectrum of CBRS base stations across different CBRS networks.
Private LTE network deployments operating in CBRS and other bands may be based on the same backend service core as traditional LTE deployments. Here, subscriber access to packet core services may be made through a 3GPP-defined Evolved Packet Core (EPC). Core network functions of the EPC may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), a Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW), and a Serving Gateway (SGW).
Given the addition of a local private 3GPP network to an enterprise, concerns regarding resource, maintenance, and communication efficiency as well as security are raised.
Specifically, an enterprise deploying a private LTE network may be required to host and manage all of the complex 3GPP radio and core network functions. Alternatively, the enterprise may involve a service provider for hosting the 3GPP radio and LTE service layers of the private LTE network. Here, no reuse of existing enterprise wireless services is typically involved a private LTE network deployment. Also, there may be no simple way to realize unified policy control between the existing enterprise Wi-Fi network and the newly-provided private LTE network. Even further, it may make little sense to use a 3GPP-defined service-oriented architecture having a rich set of features in enterprise architectures where many or most of the features have little or no relevance to the enterprise. As is apparent, these options may be relatively expensive options for an enterprise.